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Call it “Wolf How-to”. How do you get footage of Wisconsin’s wolves when there are only some 500 animals in the state? How do you get footage of wolves when they travel mostly at night, and DNR officials describe the likelihood of ever seeing one as “remote”?
These are the questions that confronted Wisconsin Public Television photographer Frank Boll as he set about obtaining footage of wolves to illustrate a series of reports on these animals for IN WISCONSIN. That photo assignment became a four-year quest that garnered Boll some stunning animal footage and took him on an amazing adventure in our state. Did he do it? Did he get footage of wolves? How? Join us and see how an experienced animal photographer faced his toughest challenge in his quest to obtain footage of Wisconsin’s wolves.
Photographing Wolves
Part 1 - Wolf History - 9:30 (Real Media) - Aired 04/24/08
Part 1 - Wolf History - 9:30 (Windows Media) - Aired 04/24/08
Part 2 - Wolves and Bear Hunters - 6:30 (Real Media) - Aired 5/01/08
Part 2 - Wolves and Bear Hunters - 6:30 (Windows Media) - Aired 05/01/08
Part 3 - Wolves and Farmers - 5:03 (Windows Media) - Aired 05/08/08
Part 3 - Wolves and Farmers - 5:03 (Real Media) - Aired 05/08/08
Part 4 - Wolf-Dog Hybrid - 8:30 (Windows Media) – Aired 05/15/08
Part 4 - Wolf-Dog Hybrid - 8:30 (Real Media) – Aired 05/15/08
Wolves in Wisconsin
Part 5 - Capturing Wolves on Film – 9:40 (Real Media) – Aired 05/22/08
Part 5 - Capturing Wolves on Film – 9:40 (Windows Media) – Aired 05/22/08
In February 2009, almost all over-the-air television broadcasting will be required to be digital. That means older TVs that don’t have a digital tuner won’t be able to receive a broadcast signal. While viewers who subscribe to pay services like cable and satellite don’t have to worry about the conversion, people who watch television by using an antenna—like In Wisconsin reporter Andy Soth—will have to get a special converter box that makes the digital broadcast available on an older television. Join Andy as he goes through the process of getting his TV ready for the digital future.
TV Converter Box Coupon
DTV Answers
The Digital TV Switchover
Click Here To Watch Digital Transition - 6:10 (Real Media)
Click Here To Watch Digital Transition - 6:10 (Windows Media)
St. John School in Little Chute was founded in 1836. In fall of 2005 the Catholic school offered a full time job to a retired rabbi. more »
Little Chute Profile
St. John Nepomucene School
Village of Little Chute Schools
Click Here to Watch Catholic School Rabbi - 6:45 (Real Media)
Click Here to Watch Catholic School Rabbi - 6:45 (Windows Media)
Click Here To Watch Logging Dam - 1:00 (Real Media)
Click Here To Watch Logging Dam - 1:00 (Windows Media)
Round Lake Logging Dam
Patty Loew:
Hello and welcome to "In Wisconsin." I'm Patty Loew. This week go behind the scenes for a special look at how we captured images of one of the most elusive wild animals in Wisconsin. Are you ready to make the transition? We'll tell you what you need to know to get your TV ready for the nationwide switch to digital television next february. Meet this rabbi, one of the most popular teachers at a Catholic school. We'll also take you to one of the last sites that stands as a testimony to the timber boom "In Wisconsin."
Announcer:
Major funding for "In Wisconsin" is provided by the people of Alliant Energy, who bring safe, reliable and environmentally friendly energy to keep homes, neighborhoods and life in Wisconsin running smoothly. Alliant Energy, offering energy-saving ideas on the web. UW Health, providing specialty and primary care for all ages throughout Wisconsin. Information on UW Health physicians and clinics and on University of Wisconsin Hospital is available on the web. UW Health, healthcare for the greater good. And by the Animal Dental Center of Milwaukee and Oshkosh. A veterinary specialist working with pet owners and family veterinarians throughout Wisconsin, providing care for oral disease and dental problems of small companion animals.
Loew:
We've been bringing you a month-long series produced by Joanne Garrett examining the many issues surrounding the return of wolves to Wisconsin. Normally we spend a week or two producing a report for "In Wisconsin" but capturing the elusive wolf on camera proved so impossible that our videographer, Frank Boll, worked on this series for four years devoting untold hours, including many weekends. During that four-year period Joanne and Frank also worked on dozens of other reports but they never gave up on their wolf quest. This week we offer you a behind the scenes look at how Frank at last found success and the amazingly tenacious and sometimes humorous lengths he went to in capturing these rare images.
Joanne Garrett:
We were working on another story when we saw this. This rather large hole. Molly Nell of the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge explained what we were looking at.
Molly Nell:
A wolf den that's a couple of years old. It wasn't used this past year but it was in previous years. It probably had been a badger hole or some such thing before and the wolves came in and enlarged it.
Garrett:
The wolves, wow, a wolf den. Okay, a former den but still, cool. Hey, we thought, let's do a story on wolves in Wisconsin. [howling] And so began a great adventure. A quest, four years in duration by our videographer, Frank Boll, to capture footage of Wisconsin's wolves. Necedah became a second home. He spent days of his off time in this blind or up a tree.
Frank Boll:
I'm going to try to mount the camera on here again. We'll now clear the trees so I can pan it back and forth.
Garrett:
This is a wildlife sanctuary. This is where most photographers get their footage of wolves. Boll didn't want that.
Boll:
It would be picturesque if a wolf came out of there.
Garrett:
He wanted to capture the wolves in their natural habitat. It required a lot of tree time.
Boll:
I spend at least eight to ten hours a day doing this when I come up here. This is the sensor the heart of the system. Basically it’s a little computer that sits on the tree and it shoots out an infrared beam.
Garrett:
He had to rig up this complex system of remote camera, light and infrared sensing apparatus that discerns an animal's presence by motion and temperature.
Boll:
It records it as an event and then there are two outputs to the sensor. One goes to the light, this cord here turns the light on. The other cord goes to the camera and turns the camera on at the same time.
Garrett:
Just lights, camera, throw in a dead deer, cue the wolves and action. Not exactly. Just so you understand, Boll is no novice to nature photography. He's been looking through a lens at animals for decades from moose in Alaska to lions in Africa. He's followed crane hunters in Pakistan and shimmied into a rain forest canopy to capture an avian wonderland in Costa Rica. But nothing, not bull snakes, not bears, not bats, nothing has been as hard to capture as wolves. Adrian Wydeven, a Wolf Specialist for Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources.
Adrian Wydeven:
They're such shy, secretive animals, they travel mostly at night and your chances of seeing them is remote.
Garrett:
This is the understatement of the century. The project began with much promise with Boll testing his camera equipment in his backyard.
Boll:
You just have to do a lot of tests. I got two outside cats and they live in a lawn shed. I set it up at their entrance and I would watch what they were doing and see what the camera was doing at different temperatures.
Garrett:
First kitty cats and then wild critters. Easy, right? No.
Boll:
It was all eagles when we first started. Eagles came in during the day and used up all the tape.
Garrett:
Time for Plan B.
Boll:
That's when we changed to night only. The eagles aren't active and the wolves are mostly nocturnal.
Garrett:
The night life. And so began an accumulation of animal footage from this wolf project that we came to call “Guess Who is Coming to Dinner?” Lots of animals, but no wolves. Boll would eventually employ a total of three of his own remote cameras around the state. Day and night and baited, checked and monitored by three incredible animal fans. Ron Paresan, a wildlife technician for the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission. Richard King, wildlife biologist at the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge and Ron Schultz who works as a wildlife technician for the DNR. This combo of cameras captured just a few wonderful but short wolf moments. And some amazing shots of other animals. Here is a black bear family. Two turkey vultures strut, wings outstretched. Three turkeys, all toms, saunter. Here is a bobcat burying some food morsels. This is a gray fox, completely nocturnal, seldom seen. It looks more feline than canine. This canine, a coyote had a tough time of it. Boll and others tried a variety of ways to entice in wolves. From dead deer, scented lures, a rotting beaver and in this case a buried turkey carcass. Buried and to the coyote's dismay, chained down. But the animals gave as good as they got. This is what a black bear weighing in at around 200 pounds, can do to a camera. It's not pretty. And it wasn't just the big guys. This flying squirrel weighing in between 4 to 7 ounces developed an interest in plastic cords and with one bite shut down production. Boll used his remote camera system very successfully on other stories that evolved out of his wolf quest. Like this report we produced on the pine marten. Though he tried the remote cameras on different sites. In a blind, on the ground, in the air. The wolves seldom showed and never stayed for long. Their senses were too sharp. This one hears the camera even though it's muffled by casing. This one looks up and sees not the infrared light. That's invisible, but the slight glow of the light fixture itself. And he's gone. Until one snowy Saturday this January after four years of effort, a visitor. For four minutes the wolf trotted across a frozen lake and then away from the camera. Amazingly, this visual cornucopia continued the next day.
Boll:
I was sitting in the blind looking out the north window. I looked back to the west over here and I see two wolves coming across the frozen lake. They actually started to come towards me. They came within 200 yards I would suspect and the lead wolf stopped and looked at the blind. All of a sudden he took off running straight to the north and he looked over his shoulder as he's running. It is a giveaway that they have seen you and they aren't going to get closer.
Garrett:
Once again the wolves' keen senses prevailed and their intelligence.
Boll:
Sometimes I think they even notice that the blind is there because I'm sitting on top of a hill, not a lot of cover around. I think they know the country so well, their territory that I believe they know when there is something different there. It would be sort of akin to coming home and finding another sofa in your living room.
Garrett:
Four years and finally a total of more than 14 minutes of footage. The wolves turn tail and the wolf quest came to a close.
Loew:
You can watch Frank and Joanne's entire five-part wolf series on our website. The address is wpt.org/inWisconsin.
Loew:
The transition is coming, the transition is coming. Just like a modern day Paul Revere we're trying to get the word out about what is perhaps the biggest thing in television technology since TVs were invented. On February 17th, 2009 there will be a federally mandated, nationwide switch from the analog television signal to a digital broadcast signal. Many people have questions about whether or not their TV will be affected and if so, how they can get it digital ready. Reporter Andy Soth has the answers to your questions.
Andy Soth:
Maybe you've already heard about the transition to digital television. You might have seen these spots about the transition on Wisconsin Public Television. As a public TV employee, I've been hearing about it for years, but today, I can finally do something. As a public television employee, I don't exactly have the cash on hand to just go out and buy a new digital tv, plus, I subscribe to the Art Hackett philosophy of television.
Art Hackett:
People should watch television over the air, with an antenna, the way God intended it.
Soth:
In other words, I don't want to get a bill for cable or satellite, but if you subscribe to those services, you don't need to worry, your provider will take care of you. But if you're like me and you get your television over the air through an antenna you are going to have to take action. You'll need to get one of these digital converter boxes. There are many to choose from but they all make it possible to watch digital tv on a non-digital set. I've been waiting to buy the converter box until I got these special discount coupons in the mail. I signed up to receive them on this website. These coupons, they’re really more like the gift cards chain stores sell. They cover $40 of the cost of the converter box. Each household is qualified to get two of them. The US government provides the coupons because the transition to digital television is a federal mandate. It promises to be a huge step up in quality not just on high definition sets, even the converted signal on old TVs will be clearer with no fuzzy picture or static. Plus, more channels will be available over the air. Like the digital transition in music from album, to CD, to mp3, the digital broadcast transition creates opportunity. The move to digital TV will free up space on the airwaves so the government can then lease out for new communication technologies like data delivery to hand held devices and who knows what else. So you can think of these coupons as your personal slice of that pie. Okay, I have my coupons. Let's go shopping.
Brad Fritter:
How are you doing?
Soth:
Good. I've got my coupons, and I want to find out about getting a digital converter.
Fritter:
I've seen a few of those in the last month or so. It's been quite popular. Still use an antenna?
Soth:
Yes.
Fritter:
Okay. Just right around the corner we'll show you the box. We carry a Zenith box, a digital analog converter box. Your old TVs will now work with the new signal over the air. You'll be able to plug your antenna into here. That is -- we make the switch in February 17th of 2009. This is what you'll need for an analog TV set in order to receive a digital signal. The price of this box is $49.95 plus tax. The coupon is for $40. You'll have to pay the additional charge which will be roughly around $12 after tax for that box.
Soth:
All right, I have my box, and I’ve decided to hook it up. The manual provides clear instructions. Plug in my antenna. And then this will go to my TV. Just match the colors. The power in there. The back of the TV here. All right. Here is the moment of truth. Turn it on. See what happens. I've never seen that before. Okay, look, I'm getting multiple versions of Wisconsin Public Television. This is great. I have twice the channels I had before. The picture is terrific, I don't have to pay a monthly cable or satellite bill and for a one-time investment of just over $10, I'm ready for the digital transition. So to review, if you watch television over the air with an antenna here is what you should do. Log onto the DTV website or call the 800 number and wait for your coupons to arrive in the mail. Then go to a retailer and purchase your box. Come back home, plug in your antenna and plug it into your TV and the last step, sit, watch and enjoy.
Loew:
Wisconsin Public Television also has a 1-800 hotline set up to answer your questions about the digital transition. That number is 1-800-422-9707. And it is staffed during regular business hours. Again the number is 1-800-422-9707. We also have a section on the Wisconsin Public Television website that answers common questions and lists the number you can call to get a coupon for that converter box. The WPT website is www.wpt.org. We'll repeat that web address, the WPT hotline number and the number to call for a converter box coupon at the end of our program. Our final report this week is one of those fish out of water stories. It's no secret that the religions of the world don't always see eye-to-eye, but reporter Art Hackett came across a story in Little Chute that offers an intersection of two major faiths, and he found the story in an unlikely place.
Art Hackett:
In the little village of Little Chute there is a school, a very old school.
Holly Terrien Rottier:
St. John's school was established in 1836, so it has a very long and rich history. It is a Catholic school.
Hackett:
The village was founded by Catholics, Dutch Catholics.
Rottier:
The parish is Saint John Nepomucene Parish. Saint John Nepomucene is the patron saint of the confessional. A lot of people say that it's decided that their children will attend here the moment that they become pregnant, so it's a tradition, steeped in tradition.
Hackett:
So if this is about a village of Dutch Catholics, why am I playing this music? A Rabbi walks into a Catholic school. That's not a joke, that's what this story is actually about.
Rottier:
I had attended the gathering of the Church of Green Bay which is like a teachers convention only it's for anyone in the Church of Green Bay, and that was back two years ago. And I had seen him speak on the Psalms, actually.
Sid Vineberg:
After I retired from the full time pulpit, I started substitute teaching. While since I was substitute teaching, and I was talking to Catholic educators, I did a little commercial at the end of my presentation and said "If you're interested in a substitute teacher, that's what I'm doing now."
Rottier:
At the time, we needed substitute teachers, so I came back and said to my administrative assistant Marianne Welch, "find this man and put him on our list." The kids fell in love with him, the staff fell in love with him, and they parents fell in love with him, and we thought if there's an opening for this man, we're going to make him a permanent member of our St. John family here.
Hackett:
In a school where it is definitely okay to hang the Ten Commandments on the wall, they've got a guy who really knows about the Ten Commandments. They hired the Rabbi.
Rabbi Sid Vineberg teaches a math class in the afternoons, but most of the time he's in charge of the resource room. This is the point in the story where we have to tell you that this happens to be country and western day. It's cowboy optional for students who have behaved themselves.
Vineberg:
62% of 25 is a number.
Female Student:
Gotcha.
Vineberg:
Okay?
Hackett:
The resource room is a place where students can go to get one on one attention if they need it or study in groups.
Vineberg:
You know a lot of people asked me when I left the full time pulpit, "Why are you going into teaching?" Really what I say to them is it's not that far off from what I'm supposed to be as a rabbi. A rabbi is a teacher. And so I don't really see it as different. It's simply a different way of expressing that commitment to God that you make as a Rabbi.
Hackett:
Rabbi Sid taught courses in Biblical history for a number of years at St. Norbert College in De Pier. He is still part time rabbi at a Manitowoc congregation.
Vineberg:
Everybody who teaches in a Catholic school has to have religion certification from the Diocese. So with all of my experience, and I actully wrote part of a book that's yet to be published on explaining Catholicism to Jews, they gave me advanced certifications. I'm probably the first rabbi who has a certificate saying that I am a catechist for the Diocese of Green Bay since Paul.
Hackett:
That would be the apostle Paul.
Vineberg:
What do we know about Ruth?
Student:
She was a Moabite.
Vineberg:
She was a Moabite, very good. Do you remember this now Kyle?
Student:
She was married to Boaz.
Vineberg:
She was married to Boaz, that's right.
Vineberg:
I don't actually teach a lot of religion. I did do a course for the teachers in scripture so that they could get some scripture credits the last time that we had a half day, but I don't actually teach a lot of religion because that would sort of cross, cross the boundary a little bit in where people's comfort level might be, and I can understand that.
Hackett:
This is a Catholic school.
Vineberg:
It is a Catholic school, and I would feel the same way if my children were going to a Jewish school, and you had a priest who came in and said okay I'm going to teach religion now, well wait a minute, you know.
Hackett:
If there is one part of your faith that you would want the students here to understand. What is it?
Vineberg:
I would think that we all worship the same God. That you know God speaks to us differently, but it's the same God, and really that's the gift that the Jews gave to the world was the understanding of who the one God is. You know when they were reciting, when I see the kids here recite the Ten Commandments, or when I see them study the Hebrew scriptures, or when they look at Psalms you know that resonates for me because that's what we gave to them.
Hackett:
Rabbi Sid likes to focus on the connection between Judaism and Christianity. The wallpaper on his computer monitor is of the meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and a rabbi in Germany.
Vineberg:
And so I think that Pope Benedict sent a tremendous message by making this his first trip and even though he had a lot of other things that he was doing by making this visit a priority to me it really symbolizes the new commitment that we have between Judaism and Catholicism to find common ground.
Hackett:
One of the classic elements of the Catholic school is students writing a snide remark about Sister Mary on the blackboard, Sister Mary returns to the room and is outraged, hilarity ensues. Why is Rabbi Sid so awesome?
Student:
Because he helps you learn anything. He's rabbi.
Vineberg:
What I really hope that this brings out is that there are a lot of things that religious people can accomplish in the world, and I think that the best way that we can do that is by educating our children to see us as all as people and by remembering that we're all trying to do the same thing, we're all trying to be God's partners in making the world a better place.
Rabbi Sid tells us he's now on the board of directors for the Wisconsin chapter of a National at Risk Education Organization. That's our show for this week. Before we go, we'd like to again give you the website and phone numbers for more information about the digital transition. Wisconsin Public Television's 1-800 hotline for digital transition questions is 1-800-422-9707. The hotline is staffed during regular business hours. Again, the number is 1-800-422-9707. Now Wisconsin Public Television does not give out the converter boxes mentioned in Andy Soth's report, but you can get a coupon to go toward buying one by calling 1-888-DTV-2009. That's 1-888-DTC-2009. Finally, you can get all of this information plus answers to some common questions about the digital transition by logging onto www.wpt.org, the website for Wisconsin Public Television. From all of us here at "In Wisconsin" have a great weekend. I'm Patty Loew. See you next time.
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